2011 Super Chevy Las Vegas Event - Autocross

Just like last year, there was an autocross course sponsored by Total Cost Involved, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Currie Enterprises, and Toyo Tires set up in a corner of the Vegas Motor Speedway. These short courses are a great way to do something with your car at the events that is fun to do, and the worst thing that could happen is you hit a few cones. The course was set up and run by the Las Vegas Region SCCA, which is comprised of Carl Fuller, Sue Stoddard, Dave Hironaka, Randy Harrison, Gustavo Torres, Dominic Fossile, and Jose Torres. These guys laid out a track that was technical enough to test a seasoned driver but not so complicated that a beginner couldn't give it a go. Driving smooth will produce the quickest times, but sometimes it's just fun to drive it hard and pitch the car sideways. The course was teaming with activity both days and we were there to nab a bunch of photos and videos that can be seen on our website (superchevy.com).

The AMSOIL Best of the Best voting begins the Monday after each Super Chevy Show and lasts through the following Sunday at midnight. Keep your browser aimed at bestofthebest.superchevy.com to vote for next batch of classic Bow Ties.

Here are the Las Vegas winners from the 2011 AMSOIL Best of the Best competition, presented by Danchuk:

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2011 Super Chevy Las Vegas Event - Autocross

Another new Camaro on hand was this silver beast owned by Don Gonzales. Don has also installed a full Hotchkis suspension system, BBK intake, Barton short-throw shifter, and a Flowmaster exhaust. All these mods and Don’s driving skills allowed him to run a time of 27.88.

A sponsor of the event, TCI brought out its test-mule ’68 Camaro to showcase how well the company’s suspension works. Editor Jim Campisano even got some seat time in it and ended up clicking off the fastest time of the day—only to be taken down by Todd Akes in the very next lap.

Another new Camaro on hand was this silver beast owned by Don Gonzales. Don has also installed a full Hotchkis suspension system, BBK intake, Barton short-throw shifter, and a Flowmaster exhaust. All these mods and Don’s driving skills allowed him to run a time of 27.88.

One of the most exciting cars to watch was this ’66 El Camino owned and built by Gabe Guerin. The El Co has a healthy 327 under the hood, a 12-bolt Posi out back and not much else in the way of performance suspension. Heck, it still has four-wheel drum brakes. Gabe said the El Co was pushing really hard in the corners, so he decided the only way to make the turn was to hit the gas, pitch it sideways, and drift it around. While that didn’t allow for ultra-quick lap times, it did put a smile on this writer’s face. Way to go, Gabe.

Trish and Robert Byrd were there in Trish’s ’10 SS. Trish lets Robert drive it on the condition he cleaned it up when they get home.

...Not a bad deal if you ask us. The car has a full Hotchkis Race Pack suspension setup, and a BBS rim and Nitto Invo tire combo. Trish and Robert took turns thrashing the course, and while Robert did turn in a quicker time of 27.91, Trish took home a plaque for being the quickest female with her time of 28.40.

King of the weekend was Todd Akes and his all-aluminum 427 big-block–powered ’69. The car has a DSE front subframe, a modified Chris Alston Chassisworks G-bar rear, and rolls on 18-inch Forgeline wheels with Toyo R888 tires (275/35 front and massive 335/30 rear). Todd was able to click off a 25.83 here and then adjusted his shocks and took the car out on the quarter-mile where he ran an 11.90 e.t. Look for a feature on this car soon.

This clean little ’67 Nova is owned and built by Adrian Mancilla. The car is powered by an LT1 and T56 out of a ’93 Camaro. Up front is an older TCI clip with Wilwood brakes, and out back is a Hotrods to Hell truck-arm setup. The car rolls on 17-inch Wheel Vintiques V40s with 285/40 Kumho tires. Adrian had broken his wrist a week before this event, but he didn’t let that stop him. He decided to cut off the cast before coming out so he could still give it a go. He went home with a sore arm and a big smile.

Casey Aldridge owns this 2002 CHP-edition Camaro. The car is powered by a 6.0L LS with a cam upgrade and 3200 Edge converter. The suspension consists of UMI lower control arms in the front, Spohn rear arms, and Strano springs at all four corners. He still rolls the stock rims but has wrapped them in Nitto NT555 275/40R17 tires.

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